:: In the latest Coffee with Polio Experts video, we talk to Carolyn Sein, Technical Officer for the GPEI programme, about circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses and the differences between the oral polio vaccine, and inactivated polio vaccine.

:: We also caught up with Professor David Salisbury, chair of the Global Commission for the Certification of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis, to talk about the certifying process, and containing poliovirus after eradication.

:: Summary of newly-reported viruses this week: Afghanistan: Two new WPV1 positive environmental samples reported, one collected from Kandahar province, and one from Nangarhar province.

: An advance notification has been received of one new WPV1 case in Balochistan province, Pakistan. The case will be officially reflected in next week’s global data reporting.

:: Summary of newly-reported viruses this week:
…Afghanistan: Two new WPV1 positive environmental samples reported, both collected from Nangarhar province.

:::::: Editor’s Note:It continues to be unclear why the weekly GPEI report on new cases at country level [above] does not capture cases in Syria [below].Syria cVDPV2 outbreak situation report 27, 19 December 2017Situation update 19 December 2017
:: No new cases of cVDPV2 were reported this week. The most recent case (by date of onset) is 21 September 2017 from Boukamal district.
:: The total number of confirmed cVDPV2 cases remains 74.
:: Planning continues for the second phase of the outbreak response. GPEI continues to assist the Syrian Ministry of Health in the planning process.
:: The second phase of the outbreak response will utilize mOPV2 and IPV in two additional immunization rounds through house-to-house and fixed-centre vaccination.

:::::: ::::::

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 6 January 2018]The Syrian Arab Republic
:: Prevent and prepare: WHO trains Syrian health professionals on cholera outbreaks
18-12-2017
Health professionals from north-western Syria learn how to prevent cholera and handle an outbreak. During a simulation exercise, they practise setting up and operating a cholera treatment centre. The WHO field office in Gaziantep, Turkey, organized the training.
From its field office in Gaziantep, Turkey, close to the border with Syria, WHO conducted a training to prepare more than 30 Syrian doctors for preventing and responding to a potential cholera outbreak.
Years of conflict have damaged water and sanitation systems in Syria, and violence has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. So far, there have been outbreaks of diarrhoeal disease but no cases of cholera. However, if cholera cases were to occur, the combination of damaged sewage systems and population movement could trigger an outbreak. Displaced people in Syria’s camps are particularly at risk as contact with sewage is likely…
:: Syria cVDPV2 outbreak situation report 27, 19 December 2017[See Polio above for detail]

Nigeria
:: WHO helps Nigeria control cholera in Borno state
Maiduguri, Nigeria, 22 December 2017 – Nigeria has successfully contained a five-month cholera outbreak in conflict-affected Borno state, with support from the World Health Organization and other health partners.
The Government announced the end of the outbreak on Thursday (December 21) after two weeks had passed with no new cases.
“With the support of WHO and other health actors, Borno State moved to quick action to control the outbreak. With that strong resolve to limit mortality and morbidity, this was achieved, and we can say that we have succeeded,” said Dr Muhammad Aminu Ghuluze, Director of Emergency Response, Borno State Ministry of Health.
A major Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) campaign contributed to the effort – the first of its kind in Nigeria.
With support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the International Coordinating Group (ICG) provided 1.8 million OCV doses to immunize 900,000 people in two rounds between September and December this year.
Following an initial spike in cases, the number of new infections dropped significantly after the vaccination campaign concluded…

::::::WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 6 January 2018]Myanmar
:: Diphtheria vaccination in Cox’s Bazar schools
4 January 2018 – As schools reopened after the winter break, children in the Ukhia sub-district of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, lined up not only to receive new books, but also a dose of diphtheria tetanus (DT) vaccine.
School children living in areas close to the Rohingya camps are being administered a dose of DT vaccine as part of the diphtheria outbreak response….